The Week That Was: NFL Week 9

New Orleans 28, Carolina 10
- behind an efficient night from Drew Brees, the Saint's made easy work of Carolina in their own place. The game was a bit sloppy at first with each team trading mistakes, but the Saints pulled away for a 3 score win. Cam Newton struggled mightily, completing only 35% of his passes. As some noted, Newton seemed to be a better QB when he couldn't scramble. He was sacked 4 times in the game and just 2 for 8 against the blitz. Drew Brees was a perfect 7 for 7 throwing to Jimmy Graham, who seems to be recovered from his shoulder injury.

Minnesota 29, Washington 26
- in the battle of the former Bengals coordinators, the better former coordinator came out on top. RGIII had an ok return to the lineup for Washington, and was aided by a strong performance from Alfred Morris, but he was outplayed by Teddy Bridgewater and was sacked 5 times by Zimmer's defense. Vikinggs RB Matt Asiata had 3 touchdown runs despite only 26yds rushing. It was his 2nd 3-touchdown game of the season.

Miami 37, San Diego 0
- in an embarrassing display, the Chargers got blanked by the Dolphins on Sunday. A few weeks ago Phillip Rivers was a potential NFL MVP, but he was stifled by the Dolphins defense on Sunday completing just 52% of his passes while throwing 3 interceptions. He didn't get much help from his running game either. On the flip side Ryan Tannehill had a strong game completing over 70% of his passes and 3 touchdowns. Tannehill was particularly strong against the blitz, going 11 for 17 for 124yds and 2 TD's. It was the first time the Chargers had been shut out in 241 games, which had been the 3rd longest active streak behind Denver and Indianapolis.

Arizona 28, Dallas 17
- its tough to view this game in a full lense given the Tony Romo injury. Brandon Weeden had a horrible day and is clearly not an NFL starter, if that wasn't already apparent. DeMarco Murray had a solid day but only had 19 carries. For Arizona, Carson Palmer had a sold day going 22/34 for 249yds and 3 TD's. He did throw a pick-six however. In the end though, the lack of a Dallas passing game was the deciding factor and even cause Dez Bryant to mock Weeden on the sidelines. Weeden was just 2 for 10 throwing to Bryant on the day. Arizona was 4 for 4 on redzone TD's.
Philadelphia 31, Houston 21
- the Eagles turned in another strong performance from their offense and a good enough performance from their defense to get the win in Houston, which is no easy task. However, they did lose starting QB Nick Foles in the game and for upwards of the next 8 weeks. It will be up to Mark Sanchez to prove that he is better than his "butt fumble" days. Sunday was a good start going 15/22 for 202yds and 2 TD's. He was strong against the blitz going 7 for 9. He did throw 2 INT's as well though. LeSean McCoy pitched in with 117yds for a 5.1ypc average.

Kansas City 24, New York Jets 10
- another week, another horrible day for the Jets offense. While they did rack up 364yds (55 more than the Chiefs), they couldn't translate those yards into points. Mike Vick was even efficient on the day completing 75% of his passes. For Kansas City, Alex Smith had a nice and efficient 21/31 199yds and 2 TD day, but has still yet to throw a touchdown to a wide receiver this year. Both of his touchdowns on this day were to Tight Ends. Newcomer Percy Harvin had a great day for the Jets catching 11 of 13 targers for 129yds, all top-five totals in his career. Chiefs defender Justin Houston now has 4 multi-sack games on the season.

Cincinnati 33, Jacksonville 23
- Credit the Jaguars for hanging in during a game where they twice cut into 16 point deficits. They got some help however, as Bengals defenders dropped 4 Blake Bortles interceptions on the day. They finally caught the 5th to seal the game. Jacksonville had a strong day from rookie WR Allen Hurns who outmuscled Bengals defenders on two occasions on the day for touchdowns. The Bengals offense scored 31 points on the day, which included 3 redzone touchdowns. It would have been four if not for AJ Green lining up offsides. The Jacksonville defense had come into the game with the #1 redzone defense and only allowing 11 points per game (and 3 touchdowns total) during their last four games. Rookie Jeremy Hill had a career day for the Bengals, gaining 154yds and 2 TD's on 24 carries against a normally stingy Jaguars run defense (ranked 11th coming into the day). Despite the dropped interceptions, or maybe because of them, Blake Bortles posted a career high passer rating of 96.4.

Seattle 30, Oakland 24
- Seattle was able to hang on against the Raiders despite a subpar day from both Russell Wilson and Marshawn Lynch. Lynch did have 2 TD's on the day, but on just 67yds for a 3.2ypc average. Wilson completed less than 50% of his passes on the day, including just 2 for 11 on passes longer than 10yds. Derek Carr wasn't much better completing just 3 of 10 passes of 10yds or more. Looking at the stat line, it's amazing 54 points were scored in this game. A defensive touchdown for Seattle and special teams touchdown by Oakland helped inflate the points total.

St. Louis 13, San Francisco 10
- in a highly defensive game, it naturally came down to a goal line stand for the Rams to pull out the victory. Colin Kaepernick was sacked a career-high 8 times and was stuffed on a QB sneak during the Rams stand. He also fumbled on the play. The 8 sacks by the Rams defense eclipsed their entire season total of 6. The game winning FG by the Rams was set up by a shanked punt by 49ers punter Andy Lee in his own endzone that set the Rams up at the San Francisco 29yd line.

Cleveland 22, Tampa Bay 17
- Cleveland knocked off Tampa Bay to move to 5-3 on the season. Bryan Hoyer outplayed Mike Glennon on the day to help lead the Browns to victory. Both QB's threw 2 TD's and also 2 INT's on the day, but Hoyer was a bit more efficient on the day completing 10% more of his passes and going 7/10 for 168yds and a TD on throws 15yds or further downfield. Mike Glennon had a crucial redzone INT in the 2nd quarter which helped decide the outcome. The Browns continue to struggle running the ball in the wake of losing center Alex Mack for the season. They are running for just 1.9ypc since his injury.

New England 43, Denver 21
- in the battle of two of the best quarterbacks of the last 20 years, Tom Brady came out ahead once again. Really though, it was that New England simply was the better team on this day. Tom Brady tossed 4 touchdowns on the day and Julian Edelman added a long, impressive punt return for a TD as well. Manning threw 2 touchdowns on the day, but also 2 interceptions. Rob Gronkowski had a monster day with 9 catches for 105yds and a touchdown, his 50th of his career in just 59 games (2nd fastest pace in NFL history). For Denver, Emmanuel Sanders, the once almost Patriot, had 10 catches for 151yds while DeMaryius Thomas also had 127yds. The usually stout Denver defense just couldn't slow down Brady though, who had his way with them all day long. In defeat, it was Manning's 47th straight game with a touchdown as he chases down Brees' record of 53. Brady was sacked 9 times in the first four weeks, but just 5 times in the 5 weeks since.

Pittsburgh 43, Baltimore 23
- the Ravens got rolled on Sunday night while the Steelers have put themselves in great position in the AFC North and AFC as a whole. Big Ben threw 6 touchdowns for the second consecutive game, the first person in NFL history to achieve that feat. His 12 touchdowns in 2 games is a new NFL record. It was a high scoring affair for two teams who traditionally pride themselves on defense. 5 of Ben's 6 touchdowns traveled 15+yds downfield. Joe Flacco didn't have a bad night, but was let down by his supporting team.

Indianapolis 40, New York Giants 24
- the Colts had a nice bounceback win this week after getting blown out by the Steelers in Week 8. Luck threw for 354yds and 4 touchdowns, though had a poor 54% completion percentage. Indianapolis should also be concerned that their defense gave up another 24 points this week, though some of that came in garbage time as Indianapolis at one point led by 30 points. Luck is now 12-1 in his career coming off a loss and is the first player in NFL history to pass for 350yds in 5 straight road games. There was a lot of blitzing in the game as Manning and Luck were the two most blitzed QB's in Week 9. Eli was just 13 of 29 when the Colts blitzed him. It was not a good night for Manning who overthrew receivers 11 times on the night.